Solar Flare
by VinnieLeigh
Summary: Seven years after Breaking Dawn, Renesmee has reached her full maturity, but has missed out on a good deal of normal life. Her parents allow her to enroll at their Alma Mater, Forks High School. There she meets an interesting group of friends, but it isn't long before her cheerful life is interrupted once again.
1. Prologue

Prologue

Miracle, phenomenon, abomination, monster, I have been called them all. I suppose I should introduce myself, my name is Renesmee Cullen and today is my seventh birthday. Despite my ability to show everyone what I am thinking, my Aunt Alice feels that it would help me work through my own feelings by writing them down for myself. I can't say for sure how I feel about this, but my mother always tells me never to bet against Alice.

Now, even though I am only seven years old, I look at least twenty. I have long, curly copper colored hair and eyes the color of melting chocolate. I'm five foot seven and slender with a thin layer of muscles covering every inch of my body. My mother is both older than me and the same age as me due to the fact that she was turned into a vampire right after I was born. Everyone always tells me that I have her eyes and I believe them because I remember her eyes from when she was human.

I wouldn't say I've had the hardest life, but I haven't had the easiest life either. My family is incredibly wealthy. I have never wanted or needed anything that I couldn't have, other than human blood. At the same time, there have been several attempts on my life since before I was even born. This was including attempts by my own father and grandfather, and even Jacob. After I was born, Jacob's pack tried to kill me and then the Volturi. It was one fiasco after another, but all the while my mother stuck by me, forever ready to die for me even before she knew me.

As soon as my father could hear my thoughts, he became as dedicated as my mother in my well-being. After that, the rest of my family stopped trying to hurt me too. Jacob took longer. I still remember hearing him tell my father to, 'throw me out the window' when asked to hold me while my dad tried to save my mother's life. Once he saw me, everything was better, for both of us.

My mother says that soon we will have to move because Grandpa Carlisle is too young to keep his position at the hospital without questions being asked. Hopefully by that time Jacob will be able to come with us. The thought of being away from him makes me sick, like losing a best friend or a brother. My parents are uncomfortable with how much Jacob and I seem to need each other, but I think that might be just because they don't understand.

I should tell you about all of the people in my life–– the important ones anyway––so that you don't get too confused. First I want to tell you about my father. His name is Edward Masen Cullen and he is more than one hundred years old. He was turned into a vampire when he was seventeen and dying of the Spanish Influenza. He's tall, maybe six foot two, and handsome. He has a sort of copper colored hair––like mine––that swoops in disheveled locks that might look messy on a normal human, but look fitting on him. The most interesting fact about my dad, though, is that he can read minds. Not like some phony soothsayer at a carnival, but really and truly read minds.

Then there is my grandfather, Carlisle. He looks about twenty-five, but right now he's supposed to be thirty-four. Carlisle has gold hair, almost like a field of wheat right as the sun rises. He is the shortest of the boys, but also the oldest. He changed everyone except my mother and my Aunt Alice and Uncle Jasper. He is really controlled; he works in a hospital and is around blood every day, but has never once killed anyone.

Esme, my grandmother and Carlisle's wife, is very sweet. She always has this big smile on her face. It isn't one of those smiles most people wear to mask their sadness either. She seems truly happy. She looks at my dad and mom like they were really her children and she looks at me like I'm the most extraordinary person she has ever laid her eyes on. Every time I'm near her I understand completely why my mother named me after her. As for Renee, my other grandmother, I've actually never met her. My mother says that maybe in a few years I'll be able to, but she wants to wait until enough time has passed so that she can introduce me to her as her daughter and not as a cousin or some other relative like she has to do now.

Then there is Emmett, my uncle, who always teases my mother and me. He's playful and sort of like a big teddy bear. He gives the best hugs. Emmett is huge too, really huge. His muscles are as big around as my body and he is the tallest of the boys. He's almost seven foot tall and is completely in love with Rosalie.

Rosalie is a tall blonde, sort of like what you would see in a Victoria's Secret advertisement. While she's tall and beautiful, she pales in comparison to my mother––although that might be a little biased. Rosalie was one of the few who defended my life before I was coherent enough to think and before I was born. Rosalie stuck by me like my mom and I love her for it, but she also showed little care for my mother during my time in her womb.

Jasper has always been a mystery to me, sort of like Alice. Jasper was the only person who never once held me when I was a baby. My dad tells me it was because my heart beats and I have blood that runs through my veins and he wasn't sure if he could resist it. I feel bad for Jasper, but I have become more comfortable around him since he stopped avoiding me. Jasper is blonde––a darker shade than Rosalie or Carlisle––and lean, his muscles well defined, but not large. He's tall, about the same height as my dad and has the power to control emotions.

Alice is my favorite aunt even though she finds it difficult to be around me. I don't mean to make the future blurry for her, but I find her interesting. She has this way of fluttering around like a butterfly that makes me want to watch her and copy her. She was the reason I took my first steps. I saw her dancing around the room, tidying this and that and I thought she looked lovely and I wanted to look as lovely as she did. I watched her footsteps for a few moments more before I clambered to my feet and mimicked her motions. Jacob and my parents applauded as though I had accomplished a great feat and I almost wanted to bow. Alice is small; I reached the same height as her by my first birthday. She has inky black hair that juts out from her head in a thousand different directions that still manages to look extremely well groomed.

On my mother's side, there is Charlie, my other grandfather. That's where my mother got her brown eyes from and I got mine from her. Charlie is a very quiet person and is really good about my growth. He takes everything in stride and he knows that I am my mother's daughter even though we've never told him. Charlie is engaged to Sue Clearwater, the mother of both Seth and Leah, werewolves in Jacob's pack. They are due to be married at the beginning of the summer and I am going to be a bridesmaid with my mom and Leah is going to be the maid of honor. Leah doesn't like us much, but because of Jacob, she tries to put on a good show.

Jacob is one of my favorite people, as you have probably already guessed. He is my best friend and my brother all wrapped into one. I realize that eventually Jacob will want something more from our relationship, and I want to be able to be there for him, but I'm just not sure that I could ever see Jacob in that sort of romantic light. Jacob is in no way unattractive, he's as tall as Emmett with rippling muscles and tan skin. Right now, Jacob's hair has become shaggy, overhanging his eyes a bit because he hasn't bothered to cut it. I prefer it this way because when he shape shifts into a wolf, his fur is longer and softer. Everyone complains that Jacob smells, but even though my nose is just as sharp, Jacob has never had an unpleasant odor to me.

This leaves me with my mother. I remember the first time I saw her brown eyes that lit up the first time she saw me. I saw her, but most of all I could smell her blood. Before I could deny my thirst, I nipped at her as she held me in her arms. She had whimpered and my dad pulled me out of her arms despite that being the one place I really wanted to be. Then Rosalie took me and I spent the longest two days of my life without her. I kept asking when I would be able to see her, but nobody would give me an answer. Then, on the afternoon of the second day, I saw her. The dress she wore was in shambles, her face was smeared with animal blood, her hair looked like a bird's nest and her eyes were a deep red. She was beautiful, just as I had remembered her. Still, though I could see in her eyes that she wanted me and I obviously wanted her, we were kept apart.

Jacob and the rest of the family stood between my mother and me, except my father who was eager to reunite his whole family. I had no choice left since they would not listen to me, so I let out a loud wail. My tactics worked and I was handed over to my mother, but Jacob was too close for us to truly enjoy each other's company. That was when she found out about the imprinting. She was livid and I thought she might kill Jacob even though they had been best friends. In the end, everything had settled down.

My mother's name is Isabella Swan Cullen, but everybody calls her Bella. She is a little more than five foot four with dark brown hair and a slender figure. By all rights, she could be a model. She is also a shield and the most powerful shield at that. She could shield an entire army at once without even breaking a sweat. Of course this is only mental shielding and relies entirely on the army's ability to physically defend itself. My mother has risked her life for me on many occasions and I am certain that nobody loves me more than her, not even Jacob no matter how hard he may combat that opinion. My mother didn't have to see me or know me to love me, she loved me no matter what I was or even if I accidentally killed her while she was still in her weakened human form. My mother seemed to love me before she was even certain I was there when nobody else did.

Normally, I have small requests for my birthday. One year I wanted a horse so my family went out and bought me a prize winning Standard bred stallion. His name was Olympus and he was taller than Emmett and Jacob. The first time I rode him was incredible, but soon I decided that I preferred to ride on Jacob's back as opposed to a very vulnerable horse that was far too trusting in the hands of vegetarian vampires. So Olympus was sold. Last year, my parents bought me the most beautiful car. Jacob says it's worth more than three hundred thousand dollars and that it's called a Noble M600. I like it because it's fast and sleek.

Well, to get back on topic, this year I have a bigger request for my birthday this year. I know it's a bigger request because I'm afraid to even mention it to my parents. I've been working hard to keep it off my mind so that my father doesn't find out before I'm fully prepared for any and all reactions.

So now that I have written down an introduction, I believe I will begin cataloging my adventures from now on, if I have any. I will start tonight, after my party; I assume that I will then have more interesting topics to talk about and perhaps even the answer to my request.


	2. Birthday Wishes

I.

Birthday Wishes

I heard my parents running through the trees a few miles off and knew that they'd be back within seconds. I closed my journal and turned to my fully stocked closet, courtesy of Alice. I flicked through a couple of dresses until I found a beautiful white dress with golden trim. I slid it on, the material was smooth and silky and the skirt fell to mid-thigh. I quickly ran my brush through my hair and applied my make-up. The whole ordeal took me less than five minutes. I could hear my parents in the living room and tried to ignore their whispered talk.

"You don't suppose Renesmee heard us, do you, Edward?" My mother asked.

"No, even her hearing isn't that good, we were twenty miles away," my father replied easily. I could hear them begin to kiss and opened my door and cut their moment short. I realized how madly in love with each other they were, but I really didn't want to listen to the sounds of my parents swapping spit. They broke apart and stared at me with identical golden eyes. The sun was shining through the window and was reflecting off their diamond skin. For a split second I was mesmerized.

"Renesmee!" My mother cooed, "Happy birthday, baby!" she was at my side in an instant, throwing her arms around me in a tight embrace. I hugged her back and noticed that she smelled of blood and I realized they must have just gotten back from eating.

"Thank you, mom," I replied. My father stepped in and pulled us both into his arms. He planted a kiss at the crown on my head and whispered happy birthday to me. After a short moment they both stepped back. My mother was smiling brightly at me, as only a proud mother could.

"So, Nessie, have you given any thought to what you might want by way of presents this year?" My father asked, he was just as happy as my mother which made me think that they had already gotten something for me other than my real request.

"Well, I actually wanted to talk to you guys about that…." I started and suddenly, I lost the words. I began fumbling for the right way to ask despite my practicing it a thousand times in my head, "I heard about how you two met and I also have read thousands of books about it and, well, I know what you guys would be worried about and while that is understandable, I have needs too ––" My mother grabbed my hand and placed it on her cheek and my babbling immediately stopped. I focused on what I wanted to ask, knowing my father could see just what I was showing her.

I thought of myself in a classroom similar to those I had seen in the movies I watched with Jacob. I pictured myself going to class and lunch and eating human food with friends like Molly Ringwald, Judd Nelson, and Matthew Broderick. I drew together as many pleasant ideas of high school and me in it as I could and pushed them into her head.

I saw the initial shock flash across her face immediately followed by a sharp stream of worry. She bit her lower lip as her brows drew together forming a crease. My father seemed to take everything in, his face set and determined not to show any emotion until he was certain about his decision. I slowly pulled my hand out from under my mother's and away from her cold, stone cheek.

"You want to go to high school?" my mom said at last. I could only nod, not trusting my voice. It was looking less and less likely as the seconds rolled on.

"Renesmee," my eyes flicked over to my father's unreadable face, "do you mind if your mother and I discuss this for a bit before we give you a final answer?" I swallowed, my heart––which already beats double the time of an average human––thundered in my chest, threatening to break through my rib cage and splatter onto the floor.

"Of course," I replied, relieved that my voice sounded calm, "take as long as you need."

"Thank you," my mother said, "we should have an answer for you by tonight."

"For now, we need to get ready for your party," my dad said, "We couldn't possibly show up to Alice's soiree in jeans and t-shirts now, can we?"

"That reminds me; she set your outfits out on your bed earlier when she was over." They exchanged one of their private looks and my father's mouth twitched as though he were resisting a smile.

"I'll just go call Jacob while you two get dressed. I need to make sure he's still coming."

"Of course he's coming. Renesmee, he would never miss your birthday!" My mother smiled before disappearing into her room. I crossed to the couch and pulled out my cell phone and quickly dialed Jacob's number. It rang once, twice, and then it was cut off. I pulled my phone back from my ear to look at it. Had Jacob just screened my call? I felt a sharp instance of pain, like being stabbed with a knife. Jacob has been more and more distant lately and I was beginning to get worried.

"Are you ready, Renesmee?" My parents stood by the door, both dressed glamorously in the garments Alice had chosen. My mother was in a deep blue dress that swept down to her knees. She had pulled her hair up in a loose bun on the top of her head and a few haphazard locks framed her face. My father stood next to her in a solid gray tux with a tie that matched my mom's dress. They were both smiling anxiously; whatever they had planned for me was enough to get them excited. I felt myself once again wishing I had my father's talent.

"Let's go," I agreed. Together, we raced through the woods and were at the main house in a matter of minutes. My father was the fastest, but I had inherited some of that speed from him and could keep up with him better than my mother who lagged behind a few seconds.

"Alice!" My ears pricked at the sound of Jacob's voice, "Stop it! I look like a clown!" I heard Rosalie snicker, "STOP SPRAYING ME WITH THAT STUFF!"

"Well, how am I supposed to finish getting you ready if I constantly want to gag? It's just a little bit longer." Jacob whined, more wolf than man.

"Do you think it's too much?" Esme asked.

"No, she'll love it. She loves you," Carlisle crooned. My mom stepped forward and knocked on the door. I felt my brow wrinkle. Why were we knocking? This was our home. Suddenly, all the little noises and the voices cut off.

"Come in," Esme called, her sweet, angelic voice lilting as I heard her sit down. My father opened the door and held it for my mother and me. Charlie and Sue were sitting on the couch next to Esme, Carlisle was standing behind her, his hand lightly placed on her shoulder. Emmett and Rosalie were against the far wall and Jasper stood near the stairs, near Alice who stood three steps up. I cast my eyes around the room again, I was certain I had heard Jacob.

"Be patient, doll," my father whispered to me. I didn't want to be patient, though, I wanted to see Jacob. Still, I took a deep breath and smiled.

"Happy birthday, Renesmee!" Everyone cheered in unison and I absently wondered how long they had practiced to get the timing just right. I slowly examined the rest of the room, a mountain of presents was stacked on a nice banquet table, and on the opposite end of the room was a three layer cake with seven candles jutting from the top. I inhaled and knew that it was strawberry.

"Thank you, everyone," I smiled. Charlie rose from his seat and I waited patiently ––he always moves so slowly!––as he walked over to me to wrap me in his arms. I hugged him back, carefully so as not to hurt him.

"I can't believe you sprouted up like a weed! It was only yesterday that I held you for the first time," a wave of sadness ripped through him and I could tell how much he wished he could understand my life.

"Thank you, Grandpa," I replied. Alice stepped in then and pulled me toward the pile of presents. She flipped through several before she came to the one she was looking for and yanked it out with a flick of her wrist. She turned, her smile triumphant, and presented it to me. It had simple silver wrapping paper and was only about the size of my hand.

"Here," she said as I took it from her, "this is from Charlie and Sue." I smiled as I slid my finger beneath the paper and tore it from the small package. I pulled the lid off the small box and felt a smile spread across my face. Inside was a small silver angel figurine with three small wolf cubs at her feet. I touched her smooth face; it was as cold as vampire skin. My smile faltered a bit, the angel was more my mother than me. My mother was the original werewolf tamer, not me.

"Thank you, Grandpa, Sue," I hugged Charlie again before Alice handed me another gift, this one was much bigger. I was surprised at the weight for a brief second, but I quickly adjusted my hold and ripped the paper from the box. The lid flipped off with the paper and I stared down at what could only be described as spun gold. I lifted the gown from the box and watched in wonder as it cascaded to the floor and rippled like a pool of sunshine. The dress was incredibly lightweight so I handed it off to Alice who cradled it in her arms like a newborn baby. Beneath the tissue paper that the dress was lying on top of, I lifted a pair of matching wedges from the box.

"Oh, do you like it?" Alice demanded, looking as though she might bubble over from her nervous excitement. I nodded and pressed my hand to her cheek as I pictured myself in the brilliant dress, twirling in a room full of mirrors. Alice squealed in excitement and squeezed me against her tiny chest with her iron arms. "I'm so glad!"

"Alice," my father cleared his throat, "we should have her open the rest of her presents quickly before our guests lose their patience." Alice scowled at him for just a split second before she placed my shoes and gown back in the box. She returned to the gifts table and handed me another box.

"This one is from your mom and dad," she informed me. I made quick work of the paper and revealed a brand new laptop with what seemed to be a million features. I grinned and flung my arms around both of my parents.

"I thought you might like a computer of your own," my mom told me.

"I'm glad you like it," my dad added, squeezing me back lightly.

"Okay, Edward, Bella, let's keep this party moving, shall we?" Alice said. She pushed another present into my hands, this one was heavy and large. "From Carlisle and Esme," she told me. I pulled the paper away and lifted the lid away to reveal several books, a first edition Tolstoy, _Moby Dick_, _Catcher in the Rye_, _Of Mice and Men_, and a few other very old, classic books.

"Thank you!" I said earnestly, letting my hands drift over the worn covers.

"I'm pleased that you like them," Carlisle smiled.

"I was worried you may already have read them," Esme confessed. I shook my head.

"Don't be ridiculous! These are incredible!" They smiled, pleased. Alice tossed me the second from the last present on the table and I caught it deftly.

"Emmett and Rosalie," Alice told me. I opened it to reveal a red dog leash. I stared at it wordlessly.

"What is this for?" I asked Rosalie.

"Whistle." Emmett commanded.

"Wha––?"

"Just whistle." I did as I was ordered and let out a high pitched whistle. Not two seconds later I could hear the loud thud of footsteps just moments before Jacob appeared on the stairs before me. He was wearing one of the nicest suits I had seen him in and his hair was slicked back and out of his face. He grinned the second he saw me and trampled down the last few steps to sweep me into a big bear hug.

"Happy birthday, Nessie!" he set me back down when I noticed a bright red band around his neck that matched the leash in my hands. I reached up to touch it.

"Oh, Jacob, how did they manage to talk you in to this one?" I demanded. Jacob chuckled, his chest rumbling beneath my fingertips.

"Well, Alice made me put on the monkey suit and then while she was doing my hair Blondie slipped this around my neck and presto." He smiled, "I thought it was a tie until just before you whistled."

I turned to Emmett and Rosalie in confusion, "You're giving me Jacob as a birthday gift?" Emmett gave out a strangled laugh that almost sounded as though he were choking. Out of the corner of my eye I could see my parents flinch.

"No," Emmett said at last, "Jacob is the joke. Your present is in Alice's hands." I looked back over to her, surprised to see a small, wriggling puppy in her hands. It was pure white and extremely fluffy. How could I not notice that?

"We planned it out so that you would be focused on Jacob while Alice snuck out to retrieve the puppy from Emmett's truck."

"Happy birthday!" Alice squealed as she pushed the tiny thing into my hands. It was incredibly soft and plush and made quiet snuffling noses as I cradled it to my chest.

"What are you going to name her?" Charlie asked from his place on the couch. I ran my hand gently along the puppy's small body from nose to tail. I had never had to name anything by myself before; Olympus had his name before we had even bought him.

"Tennyson." I said decisively. I smiled down at the puppy. My puppy.

"Tennyson…." My mother murmured, I looked up at her to see a strange expression on her face. It seemed to be a jumble of pride, warm happiness, and a powerful sadness. I tilted my head at her, scrutinizing her and desperately trying to understand just what was going on in her firmly protected mind. She saw me looking and quickly forced a smile onto her marble face.

I moved to the couch and sat next to Esme, Tennyson resting peacefully on my lap. For a long moment no one spoke.

"Well, I suppose the next item on the agenda should be the cake, right?" Alice broke the silence in her delicate trill. I nodded and placed Tennyson on the couch beside me as I rose to follow everyone to the far corner of the room. Jacob was right beside me, his large hand was splayed across my back as we stood before my beautiful, white cake.

"One, two, three," Alice said before everyone began singing _Happy Birthday_ to me. Jacob's deep baritone rumbled behind me as I watched the soft flame dance in front of me. I inhaled deeply before blowing out all seven candles with one wish in mind.

"So, what did you wish for?" Jacob asked a while later. Everyone had faded into their own conversations. Mostly, Alice was helping Sue plan the wedding and Charlie and Emmett were talking sports again.

"If I tell you, will you promise to try and make it come true?" I asked as I absently stroked Tennyson who had been sleeping most of the day.

"Of course, Nessie, I'd do anything to make you happy," he said earnestly.

"I know," I told him, calmly. He waited, "I wished for everything to stay as warm and happy as we are now."

"Well now, I thought you were going to ask for something difficult!" he chuckled as he reached forward and used his knuckle to scratch under Tennyson's chin. She seemed to enjoy that because her back leg began twitching. I laughed softly.

"I'll chalk that up to you being part wolf," I teased.

"What?" he demanded.

"You're affinity with K-9s." He pretended to scowl, but it quickly turned into a wolfy grin.

"Renesmee?" my mother interrupted. My head snapped up at her voice and I handed Tennyson over Jacob as I stood and followed her into the next room where Carlisle and my father waited.

"Thank you for the gifts," I said. Carlisle smiled.

"Renesmee, earlier you asked to go to school, right?" I nodded mutely.

"It isn't an outrageous request," my mother announced and my dad and Carlisle nodded.

"However, we will need to move within the next year or so," Carlisle continued, "I am getting much too old for my appearance and it has already raised questions at the hospital."

"I understand," I said, fighting the sadness that was threatening to pull up tears.

"Hold on, we aren't saying no," my father said.

"Then what are you saying?" I asked, confusion pulling my brows together.

"We are saying that you will start your junior year and you may not finish through your senior year, at least not here." My mouth fell open. They were saying yes! I could barely squelch my excitement. I immediately pulled Carlisle and my father into my arms and hugged them tightly.

"Oh, thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I cried. I turned around and found my mother who had the same expression on her face from earlier, but pulled me into a tight hug nonetheless.

"We will get you all registered tomorrow. Go enjoy the party Alice worked so hard on." My smile didn't fade even as I skipped back to my place on the couch and pulled Tennyson back onto my lap. I told Jacob everything that had just happened and suddenly everyone was talking to me about what high school was going to be like and tips on how to behave and how not to behave. Yet, even with my genetics and my highly tuned hearing, I could barely hear them over the jumble of thoughts that were pooling in my mind.

I finally get to start my own story.


	3. Firsts

II

Firsts

Alice had taken the opportunity to buy me an entire wardrobe for school complete with shoes and a backpack. She had a metaphorical vision for how she wanted me to look for my first day of high school because, of course, she couldn't see my future. I was woken up at a quarter to five, the sun was just barely over the horizon and a fine layer of fog had settled over the quiet forest that was my front yard. Tennyson was curled by my side, sound asleep even as I was yanked out of bed. Alice had immediately shoved my clothes into my arms and shoved me to the bathroom where I was to shower and dress.

Fifteen minutes later I was wearing a pair of jeans that fit like a second skin, a pale yellow top with white flowers printed on it and a pair of small wedges in the same pale yellow as my shirt. Alice tossed me into my chair that set in front of my vanity mirror as she began to style my hair and add a scarce amount of make-up to my face. I sat obediently, Tennyson on my lap. Alice hummed softly under her breath as she ran the brush through my long curls.

I closed my eyes as a heavy force of anticipation and anxiety washed over me. My parents had gone to this school. Alice had gone to this school and so had Jasper, Rosalie, and Emmett. My heart began to pound. What if this was all in vain? What if even after all this trouble I am still destined to be friendless and alone?

"Relax, Nessie," my father said from the doorway, "your mom and I met at Forks High School. Good things happen there, believe me. Even if they seem like they might be bad things, they are probably good things." Alice shot him a glare and my father chuckled before backing out of the room and disappearing.

Wordlessly, I reached my hand back and placed it against Alice's cold cheek. I focused on my mother, the obvious question lingering. Alice took my hand lightly and placed it back in my lap without a word. I lightly scratched at my little white puppy's belly and sat still as she finished up before slowly getting to my feet. She had pulled a lock of my hair from either side of my head and twisted them until they met at the back of my head where she tied them in a loose bun and let the excess flow with the rest of my hair.

"You are finished!" Alice said triumphantly. A huge smile was plastered across her face as though she had just finished painting the Mona Lisa. I smiled back and pulled her into a hug, placing Tennyson on the chair I had just left. She let me hug her for a few seconds before finally pulling away from me.

"Thank you, Alice." She nodded.

"It was my pleasure, Nessie," the corner of her mouth twitched, "you are my most obedient subject." I giggled.

"Renesmee," my mother was at the door now, "I've called the school. Go to the front office and see Ms. Cope, she'll get you all set up." I smiled.

"What's my name?" I asked, I was usually Vanessa to strangers in case anyone got too curious about my appearance. My mother looked a little sheepish.

"Renesmee Swan," she admitted. So I kept my first name and switched my last, with my mother's maiden name no less.

"Why Swan?" I asked. I was certain that if she could have blushed she would have.

"Well, we wouldn't really be able to explain how we look alike and have the same eyes without claiming some sort of familial relationship so Charlie has been spreading it around town that you are his niece. He has even agreed to let you stay with him at his house if you so choose. My old room isn't getting much use and hasn't really been touched since I moved out. Anyway, you're my cousin as far as anyone knows." She shrugged.

"Charlie prepared all of this in one day?" I demanded. It seemed an awful lot to accomplish in a few hours and he still needed to sleep and eat. Alice giggled behind me and I cast a glance over my shoulder at her. She sobered immediately before I turned my gaze back to my mother.

"Well, Edward sort of… saw what you wanted beforehand and they had been planning this for a while. We were actually beginning to think that you were never going to ask. This whole scheme was put into motion months ago." I felt my face heat. I had been so careful with my thoughts, or so I thought. I sighed, there was no helping it now and I got what I wanted. All's well that ends well, right?

"Thank you," I told her quietly. Even from across the room, I knew she could hear me. She smiled before flicking something through the air that I caught deftly in my small hands. I turned my hand over and peeked at what she had given me. It was my father's car keys.

"Take the Volvo, it's less ostentatious," she told me, winking at Alice. Of course I wouldn't be able to take my car. It would draw far too much attention to me. I nodded as I grabbed my empty backpack from my desk and, with a final pat on Tennyson's snowy head, I headed off to school.

Jacob stood at the end of the driveway as I pulled out. I came to a stop and he slid into the passenger seat. I stared at him for a few seconds, waiting for him to say something.

"You're going to be late if you don't leave now," he told me as he gestured to the road. I let off the brake and began speeding down the road towards Forks High School.

"Are you coming to school with me?" I asked. Jacob smirked.

"I'm no vampire. One time through high school is enough for me." I turned onto the road the school was on.

"What are you doing here then?" I asked, "Not that I don't want you around." I added quickly.

"Pull over," he instructed. I obliged and steered the Volvo to the side of the road. Trees bordered the road on either side and the road was void of any other cars. For the moment, Jacob and I were completely alone. I suppose Jacob had the same thought. "I never get you completely alone like this," he mused.

"I know, but we don't have long so if you need to tell me something…." I let the question linger. Jacob was quiet for a while longer.

"Why do you want to go to school?" he asked, "Don't you have all that you need already?" I was astounded. Usually Jacob could feel everything that I felt and knew my thoughts almost better than I knew myself. How could he not understand what it did to me to be kept away from the world?

"Jacob, I want to have friends."

"I'm your friend!"

"I want to be surrounded by people."

"You're always surrounded by people. Didn't I just say we were never alone together?"

"Jacob, I know that there is more to life than hunting and the cabin and vampires and werewolves. I want to be with humans for a while instead of always being the hybrid." For that, Jacob had no answer.

"Be careful, Nessie, humans aren't as fragile as you seem to think." He opened the door and walked into the trees, I watched as he shape shifted into his wolf form and padded off towards the reservation. As soon as he disappeared I veered back onto the road and turned into the school parking lot.

The school was a jumble of small buildings, all made with the same red bricks and nestled in the forest. I spotted the building that read Front Office and headed toward it. I was barely out of the car for five seconds before I could hear the other students' whispered observations.

"Is she a model?"

"What's a girl like that doing here?"

"She isn't _that_ pretty."

I stiffened my back and strode into the quaint office. It was a small room with a counter that cut through the center. Behind the counter were three desks. A dark-haired woman sat behind one, a phone pressed to her ear as she typed something on a keyboard. I approached the counter and a red-haired woman looked up at me from her computer screen.

"Can I help you?" she asked politely. She was a small woman dressed in plain clothes.

"I'm looking for Ms. Cope, I'm Renesmee Swan." The woman's eyes widened and she gave me a bright smile.

"I have your schedule for you here," she said as she flipped through a few papers that were strewn on the desk beside her. She pulled out a packet of paper that was paperclipped together and handed it to me.

"Thank you."

"There is a map on top and your schedule below it. The last paper needs to be signed by each of your teachers and brought back here at the end of the day." She sat back in her chair and smiled again.

"Thank you." She nodded before returning her attention to the computer screen as I saw myself out.

My first class was English with Mr. Mason. I glanced at the map and then up at the buildings before me. I spotted the "3" immediately and wanted to rush toward it, but I held myself back. No use in alerting everyone to my extreme uniqueness. Even so, I was inside the building in less than two minutes. Outside the sky was overcast and dreary, perfect for my vampire family. When I entered the classroom, the bright lights seemed to make everything cheerier.

"Hello." I greeted the tall man who stood at the head of the class. He was bald with black glasses perched on the bridge of his nose. He appeared surprised to see me, but greeted me in return. I handed him the slip that I was to get signed and he dug through his desk to find a course syllabus for me.

"We're currently reading _Macbeth_. You will need to share a book with a classmate for now. Take an empty seat, class will be starting shortly." He turned away from me before I could thank him and I resigned myself to a seat in the back of the class––the only seat left unoccupied––, alienated from my peers. How was I supposed to make friends this way? I was once again cut off from society.

"Hello." My head snapped at the sound. A small girl sat down in the desk beside me. She was cute, barely over five feet with dyed blonde hair. She seemed quiet, but nice.

"Hello." I returned.

"You're Chief Swan's niece, right? I've been wondering what you looked like." She smiled at me revealing dimples.

"My name is Renesmee, but everyone call me Nessie." She stuck out her hand and I took it gently.

"My name's Amber, nice to meet you." Mr. Mason cleared his throat, indicating that class was going to begin. Amber offered to share her book with me and, though I had already read it, I angled my chair toward her and pretended to read over her shoulder.

After class I glanced again at my schedule.

"What class do you have next?" Amber asked.

"Statistics in Building Two," I replied, "with Mrs. Tanner." Amber grinned.

"I'm going to the same place. Do you want to walk together?" I had to resist the urge to jump up and down in joy.

"Sure," I answered as calmly as I could manage. Together, we exited the building only to find that a steady rain had begun. Amber whipped out an umbrella, just as unfazed as I was. When we reached Building Two, a tall dark haired girl bounced up to greet Amber.

"Rose, this is Renesmee. Renesmee, this is Rose." Rose stuck her hand out for me to shake. Her hand was long and thin, her fingers long with fascinating cuticles. The two girls seemed like complete opposites. Amber was short and a bit plump around her thighs with short, blonde hair that was pinned away from her face and bobbed at her shoulders. Rose was tall, like Rosalie, and thin with long, dark brown hair that cascaded down her back in smooth ripples.

"Hey, what's up?" Rose asked casually. She, like Amber, produced a pair of adorable dimples when she smiled.

"It is my first day here," I told her, "Amber has been kind enough to show me around." Rose flashed a grin and met Amber's eyes.

"Good ol' Amber, the Queen of Kind she is," Rose announced with a flourished bow. "So, you're in Stats, too? Mrs. Tanner is pretty nice if you do your work and don't sass off during class." I followed the odd couple into the classroom. They sat me in the middle desk and both leaned toward me.

"Where did you go to school before?" Rose asked, I pegged her for the more vocal of the two. She was still smiling and it didn't show any sign of leaving her face anytime soon.

"I was home schooled," I said, it was mostly true.

"Home schooled? Why? Do your parents travel a lot?"

"Are you a model or something?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Amber, we would have surely known about Chief Swan's model niece, don't you think?"

"Well, I was just asking!" Amber retorted, sticking her tongue out at Rose.

"Come on then," Rose said, crossing her eyes at Amber, "were you a model or did your parents travel a lot?"

"Neither." That obviously confused them, "My parents didn't want me to go too far away, in case something bad was to happen."

"Er… wow."

"That's overprotective to the extreme, wouldn't you say?" Amber asked.

"Not really given all the things that happened when I was younger." I quickly regretted saying anything. I could see in their eyes how they burned with curiosity.

"What happened?" they asked in unison. Thankfully, Mrs. Tanner entered the classroom at that precise moment and I leapt up, a tad too quickly. My desk nearly toppled over, but I moved smoothly to the head of the class and handed my slip to Mrs. Tanner who signed it and sent me back to my seat. The rest of the class went smoothly. Mrs. Tanner wouldn't tolerate talking during her lecture which gave Amber and Rose no time to interrogate me. My next period was Spanish while Amber and Rose headed to their art class.

It wasn't until lunch that Rose and Amber finally cornered me again. Well, I suppose cornered is the wrong term. They invited me to sit with them and their group of friends. There were seven of them in total. Rose and Amber seemed to be the closest, but they all interacted flawlessly with one another. When I took my seat between Amber and Rose, it seemed the entire table focused on me.

"We're not finished with you," Rose said.

"You have to tell us what happened!" Amber demanded.

"You guys wouldn't believe me if I told you." They exchanged a look and I wanted nothing more than to duck out of the room. There was no way I would be allowed to return if I revealed my family secret to these humans.

"I get it." Amber said.

"You do?" Rose and I demanded in unison. We met each other's eyes and Rose's ever present smiled broadened.

"Yes, Nessie doesn't know us well enough yet." Rose's mouth twisted into an awkward frown. Smiles definitely suited her better.

"Yeah, I suppose we have only just become friends." My eyes widened in surprise.

"Friends?" I gasped.

"Of course," Rose leaned over and put her arm across my shoulder, "do you really think I would spend this much time talking to someone I didn't like?" My eyes filled and I desperately tried to keep them from falling over.

"What's wrong?" Amber demanded. She smacked Rose's hand and Rose snatched it away from my shoulders.

"Did you hurt her?" A large boy asked, he seemed to be joking. He had long, messy hair and was quite plump. Rose shot him a wicked glare.

"No! I barely touched her!" Rose cried.

"No, no, I'm fine!" I told them, waving my hand to get them to settle down, "I just never had a friend before." Now they looked as though they might cry.

"Well, now you have seven!"

"Guys, this is Renesmee Swan," Rose announced, "Renesmee, these are the guys. Introduce yourselves."

"I'm Luke." A tall, dark boy said. He sat beside Rose and I noticed his hand on her waist for the first time. I decided they looked nice together. He was handsome and muscular with tanned skin and dark hair and eyes.

"I'm Casey." She was another tall girl with dark hair, but she didn't smile like Rose and her eyes were light brown unlike Rose's and Amber's blue eyes.

"I'm Chad." The large, long-haired boy from earlier said. His eyes were a greyish blue and his hair was light brown. He was burly, a bit like Emmett, but less muscular.

"I'm Owen." Owen was the tallest one at the table, with short dark hair and dark brown eyes.

"I'm Sebastian." The last person was beside Amber. Their hands were clasped together on his lap. His hair was the same dark brown as Rose's and shaggy. It hung over his eyes, reminding me of Jacob.

"He's my twin brother," Rose added, nodding to Sebastian who nodded in return.

"It is very nice to meet all of you." Warmth spread in my chest as I gazed at my new group of friends.

"So…." Rose started and for a moment I thought she might push the subject of my rocky childhood some more when she surprised me by changing the subject. "What did you do this weekend?"

"My aunt threw a birthday party for me."

"When was your birthday?" Amber asked.

"Friday."

"What did you get?" Chad asked from across the table.

"A laptop, dress, some books and a puppy."

"You have a puppy?" The three girls demanded.

"What color is it?"

"What breed?"

"What's its name?"

"Is it a boy or girl?"

"White, I'm not sure, Tennyson and girl." Lunch continued that way until a bell chimed signaling its end.

"What class do you have next?" Amber asked.

"Chemistry," I replied. Amber frowned.

"Luke and Owen have Chemistry, too. Who do you have?" Rose asked.

"Mr. Banner," I answered. Owen, who had left to take the trays to the counter, returned to stand beside us.

"That means it's our turn with the new girl," Owen said flinging an arm over my shoulders as though we were old friends. He steered me toward the door and I looked back over my shoulder to Rose and Amber. Luke had leaned down to kiss Rose before following Owen and me. The other four headed out another door in the opposite direction.

"You'll never get away now, you know?" Luke said casually. Owen laughed.

"What do you mean?" I asked. Owen lifted his arm from my shoulder to pull his hood over his head. It was still drizzling outside so I pulled my yellow umbrella from my bag and opened it as we walked outside.

"Once Rose decides she wants you to be her friend, she doesn't let you leave." Owen explained. Luke shook his head.

"That's not it, it's more like…" he paused, mulling over his phrasing, "she's magnetic. Take Amber for example, she's dating Rose's twin, Sebastian, you know?" I nodded, "Well, Sebastian has had hundreds of girlfriends and Rose has disliked all of them, but when he started dating Amber things changed."

"We were actually taking bets on how long Amber would last with him, since Sebby's careful not to date anyone Rose doesn't approve of. At least not for very long," Owen inserted.

"Well, Rose apparently saw something in Amber and suddenly they were best friends. Well, Sebby and Amber broke up for a while a few months ago and we were positive that that would be the last we saw of Amber. Instead, Amber hung around even though Sebby and Rose are almost always together."

"It wasn't that Amber and Sebby had broken up on good terms either. Amber couldn't stand to be around Sebby, but for whatever reason didn't want to be away from Rose."

"Are you saying that they're friends against Amber's will?" I asked. It didn't make any sense, Amber and Rose seemed to be very close.

"No, that isn't it at all. I'm sure if you wanted to leave, you could."

"But nobody _wants_ to be away from her. Well… except those that made her their enemy." They both shuddered. I wondered what she could have possibly done that would have sent those chills down their spines. The pretty, cheerful girl I met didn't seem capable of any animosity. Though it could surely be nothing like what I was capable of or the rest of my family for that matter.

"Does it matter if I met Amber first?" They seemed to mull that over.

"Amber approached you first?" Owen asked. He seemed genuinely surprised.

"Yes, we have English together first thing in the morning and she sat beside me."

"Well," Luke said, "that's a first."


	4. Parting Ways

III

Parting Ways

Jacob was waiting for me beside the Volvo. His motorcycle was nowhere in sight so I assumed he had run. He wore a shirt, though, which was a relief. I didn't want him to stir curious eyes in our direction. Rose and Amber met me at the door to the front office and walked with me, they were prattling on about a dance, but my eyes were on Jacob's face. He looked distressed which had a small ball of fear rolling in my stomach.

"Who is that?" Rose asked, her eyes on Jacob leaning against my dad's car. I took a breath.

"He's my…friend." I replied slowly, deciding that it was the best I could say without revealing too much of our gory relationship. Amber and Rose made sounds of approval as we approached.

"Hey, Jake," I greeted as I reached up to touch his face quickly. My question transferred instantly and I pulled my hand back to my side. He gave me a reassuring smile, my family was safe and well.

"Nessie," he returned, "who are your new friends?" I detected a hint of relief.

"Amber and Rose," I answered, "Amber, Rose, this is Jacob."

"Rose," Jacob said slowly, "Nessie has an Aunt Rosalie." I grimaced. Of course he would make a connection to one of his least favorite people.

"Well, Rose is my middle name," she replied, "Axl is my first name."

"Axl Rose," Jacob murmured, "sweet." The name sounded familiar, but I couldn't place exactly where I had heard it before, "I figured you looked way cooler than Nessie's aunt anyway."

"Hey!" Chad called from across the parking lot, the rest of our group was walking toward us. I felt Jacob tense and I put my hand on his arm and whispered a warning so quietly Amber and Rose had no chance of hearing it. Jacob grumbled slightly, but I knew he wouldn't do anything I disapproved of.

"You just took off on us," Chad complained. I noticed Casey's eyes roving over Jacob as though she wanted to devour him. I felt a twinge of possessiveness, but shoved it down.

"I'm sorry. This is my friend, Jacob." Jacob gave an awkward wave. The boys seemed to size each other up. Luke went instantly to Rose and put his arm around her waist while Sebastian did the same with Amber.

"Jacob, this is Chad, Owen, Casey, Sebastian, and Luke," they all greeted one another.

"Hey, Jake," Rose broke the silence, "this is my twin," she gestured to Sebastian, "can you guess who he's named after?"

"His name's Sebastian, right?" Rose nodded. The group seemed to relax as soon as she spoke. I wondered if they were determined to dislike Jacob if Rose had deemed him unworthy. I remembered what Owen and Luke had told me earlier, maybe I had underestimated her influence.

"The only Sebastian I can think of that might fit would be Sebastian Bach, am I right?" Rose's smile broadened and she nodded.

"You're good! I like you," she stated and stuck her hand out for him to shake. His monstrous mitt enclosed her thin hand as they shook.

"I have to go," Casey announced, she approached Rose and they hugged briefly.

"Bye, Casey, see you tomorrow," Rose said. Everyone followed suit and told Casey their good-byes for the day.

"Well, Nessie, we really should get going now, your mom and dad will be getting worried." Jacob slipped his hand inside my jacket pocket to retrieve my keys. He jumped in the Volvo and started the engine.

"See you later, Rose," he said, "Amber."

"I'll see you tomorrow?" The words turned into a question on their way out of my mouth. In place of her answer, Rose wrapped her thin arms around me.

"Of course you will, unless you had such a horrible time today that you've decided to go back to homeschooling." Amber joked. I slid into the passenger seat and waved to them from behind the glass. Jacob pulled out and drove out of the parking lot.

"They seem nice," he said, "Rose seems like a handful, but I like her. Are you happy?" I was staring quietly out the window, my head resting on the glass. I had grown tired of talking, so instead I placed my hand on his cheek without looking up and thought my answer to him. He seemed to understand that I wanted quiet as he usually did.

After a few silent seconds, I pressed my hand to his cheek again. We were headed in the wrong direction for him to be taking me home.

"I told Bella that I wanted a few minutes alone to talk to you and she told me it was okay." He chuckled, "But knowing your father, I thought taking you to Quileute territory wouldn't hurt."

'Why is alone time important?' I asked wordlessly.

"Because I would prefer not to have eight vampires eavesdropping on things that are none of their business, Nessie," he turned the car down a dirt path that led to an open lot set on a cliff overlooking the ocean.

"Renesmee," my head snapped up, he so rarely used my full name, "there seems to be some trouble within the pack. A few of our wolves have gone missing and we are beginning to suspect that vampires are behind it."

"Vampires wouldn't––"

"The vampires that _you_ know probably wouldn't, but there are other vampires who dislike us."

"Are they dead?" Jacob swallowed. He looked torn, but finally shook his head.

"They're confused and we think they must be blindfolded because all they can see is black. Every now and then someone comes and tosses food to them, if you can call it that since it's mainly slabs of raw meat." He grimaced as though he had just tasted something foul.

"A group of us has decided to go in search of them. Whatever they are being captured for cannot be good for us. Any of us, vampire and werewolf alike." I chewed at my lower lip when a thought hit me.

"You're going with them." Jacob was quiet. We sat in silence for what seemed to be ages, the only sounds coming from the stereo which played jazz quietly. In the silence I could feel the correctness of my statement. It seemed to thicken the air between us and even though I could reach out and touch him, he felt miles away from me already.

"My dad already knew, didn't he, they both knew." I felt betrayed. Something as important as this should not have been kept from me, but they allowed me to go about my day as though nothing were different. As though nothing were going to change.

"Well, Edward's gift has been known to let him in on more information than he should have."

"You promised." Jacob caught my eyes. I could only imagine how I must look because his strictly composed face crumpled.

"Ness, I was going to ask you to come with me, but you started school and made friends so quickly. I can't pull you away from that."

"Jacob, I wished that nothing would change. That would mean that no one would leave, not you, not me, everything would stay the way it was." Tears were tumbling down my cheeks and my chest was constricting.

"Nessie…."

"Get out." I ordered as I climbed from my seat and around to yank his door open. The hinges squealed and I reeled in some of my strength. Jacob stared up at me from the driver's seat with a wounded expression on his face.

"Ness––"

"Jacob, get out of my father's car." He obeyed and I jumped in the seat as soon as he was out of the vehicle. I left Jacob on the cliff as I sped home.

I sat in the garage, tears leaking from my eyes. My father appeared from nowhere in the passenger seat. He was quiet for a while as I cried soundlessly. He put a hand on my back, clearly with the notion of comfort, but as soon as he touched me the tears poured out more ruthlessly.

"I think this is the first time I have been on this side of this car," my father murmured. I laughed a little, but the sound was strangled by another sob.

"Nessie," he said, "he will be back. He could never stay away from you for very long. Not easily anyway. I know your mother and I were the same way." I looked at him through tear filled eyes.

'You and mom were apart?' I asked him in my mind and he nodded.

"I'm not proud to admit it now, but I left your mother once. Back when she was still human, mind you. I thought I was protecting her, she was so fragile and I thought I had hurt her too much. I didn't realize that the worst way I would hurt her was by doing what I thought would keep her safest."

'So is that why you went back to her?' I still hadn't spoken. He looked up at the ceiling.

"No." I frowned.

'Then….' I trailed the question off in my head.

"I didn't go back to her, she came to me. She saved me and that was when I went back with her." He was quiet while I mulled this over.

"Are you telling me I should go after him?" I asked aloud. His face was firmly composed again and I knew he didn't want to give away too much.

"I'm telling you that if he loves you the way you think, he will be on his way back to you before he even leaves. I would only worry if he didn't come back quickly."

"Do you know what has been going on then?" He met my eyes.

"Alice seems to think the Volturri are at the root of this problem. She can't see much because it becomes blurry for her. Our conclusion is that the Volturri are after you again. We are assuming they want to recruit you into their ranks."

'How would kidnapping wolves help them recruit me?' I wondered to myself.

"We aren't positive about the connection. We simply know that this future involves you in some way." After a short pause, "Your mother is getting worried. Would you like me to send Jasper in or have you calmed down enough?" I ran my hands over my eyes quickly, but they had already dried.

"I'm okay," I answered.

My mother was waiting in the next room restlessly stroking Tennyson who was squirming in her cold arms. She had only heard my father's half of the conversation and she was obviously anxious to know what had happened.

"Renesmee," she sounded relieved, "how was your first day? Did you make friends?"

"Yes, they are all very nice." I pulled her into my arms. Compared to the hug Rose gave me earlier, which was warm and soft, my mother was cold and hard. The hug in itself felt warm, however, and safe. As we parted I pulled Tennyson from her and held her gingerly in my hands. She seemed relieved at my sudden warmth because she immediately snuggled into my chest.

"Well, tell us about them!" Alice squealed, leaping over the couch and landing gracefully beside me. I wasn't sure how much she already knew about them, or if they were too blurry to see.

"There are three girls and four boys, Amber, Chad, Casey, Owen, Luke, Sebastian and Rose. Rose seems to be in charge of the group for the most part. Sebastian and Rose are twins and there is something unique about their names. Axl Rose and Sebastian Bach, why do those names ring a bell?" My father chuckled.

"Axl Rose is the singer from the rock group Guns n' Roses and Sebastian Bach is the singer from Skid Row. Their parents must be fans." He answered, smiling at some thought.

"Well, Rose and Amber are the closest pair in the group, but physically they are complete opposites." I put a hand on Alice and my mother's faces to show them what I meant.

"Owen, Luke and I all have Chemistry together after lunch with Mr. Banner––"

"Mr. Banner!" my mother cried out in surprise. She and my father locked eyes, both grinning from ear to ear. She quickly apologized for interrupting and I continued.

"Well, Owen and Luke were telling me about Rose and how she's magnetic to the people she likes. They can't help but hang around her. The people Rose didn't like steered clear of her, though. She's an interesting person––" I was cut short when Alice went rigid beside me. I was the last to notice, my father had narrowed his eyes and my mother had moved closer to Alice and placed a hand on her arm.

Jasper was suddenly before the couch, crouching in front of Alice. The room had become colder as everyone gathered. Esme stood beside Rosalie and Emmett across the room. They seemed less concerned, but still interested. Even Tennyson had gone still on my lap.

"What did you see?" my mother asked, she looked at me for the smallest fraction of a second. She was afraid someone was still trying to harm me.

"That was strange…." She murmured in place of an answer. She rose and Jasper stood with her.

"Alice?" Mom insisted.

"Oh, no worries, Nessie is perfectly safe." Alice leaned against Jasper tiredly, "I would like to go and rest for a while, though. It was a very fuzzy vision." Jasper lifted her in his arms easily and carried her up the stairs to their bedroom.

Everyone seemed to go about their business, but my father seemed more distracted than usual. He had seen what Alice had seen, so what did he know?

"Edward?" my mother was at his side before I could blink. He looked down at her and frowned. Whatever Alice had seen had made them both uncomfortable, but she had said that I was perfectly safe. What else would possibly worry a coven of vampires so much?


	5. Ultimatum

IV

Ultimatum

My mother decided that we should give Alice some space, so we drove to Charlie's for dinner. I brought Tennyson along who perked up during the drive. Her tail was wagging furiously as she stared out the window. She yapped at passing cars excitedly and only looked away to lick my cheeks merrily.

"Nessie!" Charlie cried. He was swinging the door open as we were mounting the steps to the door. I hugged him in greeting and we entered the house. The smell of grilled fish filled the house and I wrinkled my nose. I don't particularly like fish, but I eat it to make my mom and Charlie happy.

Sue was sitting in the living room looking anxious. I sat beside her on the couch and set Tennyson on the floor so she could play for a bit. Sue greeted me, a forced smile on her face.

"What happened?" I asked, not buying it for a second. Sue bit at her bottom lip.

"I'm certain it's nothing I should be terribly worried about," she said seemingly more to herself than me.

"Is everything okay?" She nodded quickly, but her eyes were worried as they flitted around the room.

"Well, I haven't heard from Seth or Leah in a couple of days now, but they might just be busy…." I heard my mother and Charlie arguing just then.

"––it isn't like we'd be gone forever. You would still see us as often as you asked, but you're going to be remarried soon and I'm sure you and Sue would like a little alone time as newlyweds."

"Sue and I love spending time with you guys! I don't understand why you have to move so far away!" Charlie demanded. I wondered where my mother had told him we were going and cursed myself for not listening more closely.

"Dad, if we stay much longer we will attract too much attention. I promise you will see us and it won't be for a few more months yet. I'm just letting you know in advance." Charlie huffed out a breath, but didn't press the issue further.

I lifted Tennyson into my arms as they entered the living room together. My mother leaned against the archway into the room, her eyes were on me, but she was focused on some far away thought. Charlie threw himself into his recliner and flicked on the television.

"How's the puppy?" he asked. He was eyeing Tennyson as though she might go to the bathroom right on his rug.

"She's incredible," I breathed, "and so sweet!" he nodded and turned his attention to the television again. Sue eventually snapped from her trance long enough to play with Tennyson and me before leaving to check the fish.

It was oddly quiet as we ate and I realized that none of the wolves were here. They usually kept the meals pretty loquacious and the dull silence that filled the room now was unsettling. I ate quickly and gave my scraps to Tennyson who gobbled them greedily.

I would have probably fallen asleep during the car ride home if Tennyson hadn't been so hyper on the way. I tumbled into bed and was asleep the second my head hit the pillow. Had it really been only this morning that we were happily living our carefree lives? How had that changed so suddenly?

Jacob woke me up at one o'clock in the morning. My parents usually vanished as soon as I was asleep so I wasn't worried about them getting angry. He swung is huge body through my window easily and sat beside me on the bed. We didn't say anything for a long time. Not that we needed to, the air felt lighter with him there and I knew he felt the same way.

"Most nights I wish I never had to be away from you," he said at last, his voice made my ears tingle. His hand found mine beneath my heavy comforter, "I wish we could be like this forever, but everything seems to change regardless."

"You can't send Seth or Leah or anyone else?" It really wasn't fair for me to ask him to do that to his friends, but I was afraid of being without him. Jacob scowled into the darkness.

"Leah and Sam are coming with me, but Seth is… unavailable."

"You won't change your mind?"

"Sam isn't bringing Emily either. She's staying to take care of the kids. It would be unfair to ask him to do something that I wouldn't do myself, don't you think?" There was an edge in his voice.

"Fine," I said sharply, "run off with your pack, Jacob, but I won't promise to be waiting here for you when you come back." It was unbelievably out of character for me to give him an ultimatum between the pack and me. Jacob looked as though I had stabbed him and I immediately regretted my words.

He rose stiffly from my bed and nodded at some thought in his head. I could hear his blood whooshing to his head. He looked a little numb as he crawled out my window and disappeared into the night.

I couldn't go back to sleep after that, my mind was still swirling. Despite what my father had said, I wondered if I would ever see Jacob again after tonight. I picked Tennyson up and took her outside so she could use the bathroom.

She shot off in a flash of brilliant white fluff as soon as her paws hit the grass and I watched as she zigzagged through the trees. The moon hung low in the sky, just a sliver of its awesome glory. In just a few short hours I would be back with my new friends. That one thought lightened my mood.

After a while, Tennyson scurried back to me and scrambled into my hands. Her tiny pink tongue darted out to lap at my face merrily. I decided to set out for the main house. Maybe that was where my parents disappeared to every night. I set Tennyson back on the ground and set off at a brisk pace. Tennyson struggled to keep up so I slowed. I was in no hurry after all.

The lights were still on at the house so I let myself in. Alice was in the living room fiddling with something she had in her hands. She didn't look up when I came in so I went to stand by her shoulder. She was holding a small, silver necklace that had a strange, spinning globe hanging from it.

"Curiosity killed the cat, you know," Alice told me breezily. I stepped back, but she still hadn't looked at me.

"Do you know where my parents are?" I asked. Alice pretended not to hear me, or maybe she was just too focused on what she was doing. Either way, I knew I wasn't going to get an answer out of her now.

"Nessie?" Carlisle said, surprised. I spun around. Carlisle had frozen on the steps, concern and confusion on his face, "Is everything alright?"

"Oh, yes," I replied, "I just couldn't sleep any longer and was wondering if you happened to know where my parents are?" Carlisle smiled.

"Not nervous about school, are you?" he asked, neatly dodging my question.

"No, I'm excited."

"Good, but you really do need your rest," he paused briefly, considering that, "I believe."

"I'm fine, actually. I've had less sleep than this before." Carlisle smiled and I knew he had filed that bit of information away in his brain. I was certain he had a file somewhere with my name on it.

"Esme," Carlisle said, she descended the stairs and was beside him too fast for my half-human eyes to catch, "could you keep Nessie company for a few hours?" Esme smiled in her full hearted way.

"Of course, we really don't spend enough time together!" Carlisle pecked her lightly on the lips before disappearing. I heard his car start and drive away and Esme, Alice and I were alone. Since Alice seemed too consumed in whatever it was that she was doing, Esme and I headed to the kitchen. Esme opened the refrigerator and pulled out the ingredients to make French toast.

Normally, I preferred blood, but I have been eating more human food lately. I must say the taste is growing on me. My parents, Jacob, and Esme have been experimenting on what foods I like and what foods I dislike. Strawberry is my favorite flavor this far. When we learned that my father had remarked about the irony saying, "Your mother's hair smelled of strawberries when we first met."

The food was in the frying pan before I could sit down and for a while Esme and I listened as it sizzled. Tennyson was weaving herself around the legs of my stool excitedly. Esme flipped the toast after a while before she spoke.

"I hear there have been kidnappings in the pack," she said calmly, almost as though it were a completely normal thing, "I just can't believe Jacob's let it get this out of hand."

"What do you mean?" She scooped the pieces of toast off the pan and onto a plate and added a few strawberries and syrup before handing it to me.

"There were other wolves before Seth was taken. It seems a little like he's favoring Seth over the rest of his pack."

"Seth was kidnapped?" I felt the blood drain from my face. How could I have been so blind? Seth was like a brother to us, even my dad liked him. I should have noticed exactly when he stopped hanging around, but I was too consumed with my own thoughts. I tried to think back to the last time I saw Seth.

It had been more than two weeks before my birthday. I had been hunting with Jacob and Seth had interrupted to talk to Jacob about 'pack matters'. We decided to forgo the hunting and Jacob had dropped me off at the house before leaving with Seth. I wondered if he had been kidnapped immediately after that or if it had been more recent. I picked at my French toast as I pondered this new information.

"Yes, you didn't know?" Esme looked abashed and if she could have blushed I'm certain she would have. I was apparently not privy to that information like so many other things that I was finding out about. Not many secrets were kept in this house, but all of them were obviously kept from me.

"No one seemed inclined to tell me," I said stiffly. I took the last bite of my French toast and pushed the plate away.

"Oh, they just didn't want to worry you, dear heart. They know how much you care about the wolves."

"My mom is the same way, but she seems to know everything." My voice was cold and I felt bad. It wasn't Esme's fault I had been kept in the dark.

"Well, that's because Edward can't seem to refuse her anything." Esme sighed and collected my plate.

"Yeah, I'm just his daughter," I grumbled. I was alarmingly irritable lately I noticed.

"Okay!" Alice announced cheerfully from behind us. Esme and I both turned to her, she had a huge grin on her face and was hold the necklace in the air triumphantly. She looked past me to Esme, "I know what it is now!"

"You should hurry before they leave if you're certain," Esme told her.

"Wait!" I leapt from my chair and rushed to Alice's side. She eyed me, cautiously.

"What is it? Tell me, Alice! Please if it involves Jacob then I deserve to know!" Alice listened to me patiently.

"I can't tell you, Nessie, trust me." She left quickly and I stared after her until Tennyson began gnawing at my toes. I was really getting tired of these secrets.


	6. Relationships

**Sorry, guys, I posted the wrong chapter accidentally. If any of you noticed that that something seemed to be missing it was because I skipped over an entire chapter. Sorry again.**

V

Relationships

The next two weeks went by in a blur. Rose, Amber and I became increasingly closer and I was even making friends in some of my other classes. School must have been wearing me out because I went to bed earlier and woke up later. Alice didn't come to do my hair or pick out my clothes so I wound up in jeans and t-shirts. My hair tumbled down my back unbraided or pulled back.

I was still exceedingly beautiful, but I knew Alice would have had a fit if she had seen me dressed this way. Good, I thought, I'm tired of always trying to please her when she obviously wants nothing to do with me.

When I got to the garage my car was gone and the Volvo was in its place. I growled under my breath. It was fine that I couldn't drive my car to school, but for them to take my car willy nilly was an outrage. I took a deep breath before climbing into the car and driving to school.

Jacob had come over a few times, but we hadn't spoken since that night. I had overheard him talking to my mother about leaving at the end of the week. They had only waited this long because Sue had found out about Seth's kidnapping and had become a wreck. Leah decided to stay with her which meant Sam and Jacob had to find a replacement.

"Nessie!" I heard Rose call as soon as I pulled into the parking lot. She was flagging me down from the cafeteria. Amber and Sebastian were with her along with a few new faces and I smiled and hurried over to them. My worries from last night were overlapped by my joy at seeing my friends again.

"Good morning," I breathed as I approached.

"Nessie, this is Travis, Hailey and Jason."

"Hey," Jason said, "we have Spanish together, right?" I eyed him carefully. He had short brown hair and green eyes and was only a few inches taller than me. Did I remember seeing him yesterday? I was racking my brain when the girl answered for me.

"She's not going to remember everyone she meets, Jace," Hailey told him. He looked disappointed. He had clearly hoped to make a strong impression on me. I gave him a halfhearted smile and shrugged.

"Travis is from La Push," Amber told me, "but since he lives on the border, he came to Forks High." I nodded an understanding and reached out to shake Travis' hand. He was Quileute, I was certain. He had the same tanned skin and black hair and eyes as the wolves, but he seemed small to be a wolf. I wondered if he knew who I was, but he just smiled and took my hand.

"It's nice to meet you," I said. I wondered what had happened to the regulars, but decided not to ask. Hailey was as short as Amber and a bit rounder with big, hazel eyes surrounded by thick, black eyeliner. She was blonde, like Amber, and it hung past her shoulders. It was obvious that these three were friends with Rose and the others by association only.

"We have to go, Rose," Sebastian told her. Rose nodded and let him lead her away. I thought it was strange that he hadn't said a word of good-bye to Amber, but she didn't seem bothered by it so I let it drop. As they disappeared I realized they had left us alone with nothing to talk about. We stood uncomfortably for a while, each of us trying to think of something to say.

"So, Nessie," Hailey piped, "a bombshell like you must have a dozen boyfriends, am I right?" She said the last bit as though it were one word. I flushed.

"No, I don't have any boyfriends," I replied. My mind brought up a picture of Jacob unwillingly.

"Why not?" Travis demanded, "No one good enough?" I shook my head, flustered at the choice of topic.

"No, I just haven't been around many boys in my life. At least, none that I wasn't related to." They didn't push it and I was grateful, but as the conversation died the awkwardness returned and we finally left to our classes in silence.

"Those are some of Rose's other friends," Amber explained, "She has several groups that she mingles with and they don't really mesh well together. So she spends different parts of her week with different groups."

"They don't get jealous of each other?" Amber laughed.

"No, but every year on her birthday when everyone gathers there are obvious rifts where the groups are split." Amber shook her head at a memory.

"How many groups does she have?" We entered Mr. Mason's class then and took our seats in the back of the class. We had finally moved past _Macbeth_ and on to Charlotte Bronte's _Jane Eyre_.

"Five, I think," Amber told me at our desks, "maybe more. I'm really not sure since she's always with new people."

"Do you have another group?" Amber seemed confused at my question, "Luke and Owen told me that you didn't become friends with Rose until you started dating Sebastian."

"Oh, well I did, but they don't really talk to me anymore."

"Why not?"

"I suppose there was conflict between them about my dating Sebastian because everyone liked him. Eventually it became so bad that I broke up with him, but when they still didn't want to talk to me we got back together."

"I heard you two broke up, but I didn't know the reason." Amber nodded.

"Yeah, well after that I stopped hanging out with them and Rose introduced me to all of her friends."

"You know, I can't help but notice that everyone reveres Rose as a sort of superhero. I can kind of see why, though," Amber thought about that before replying.

"I suppose we sort of do because, in a way, Rose has saved us all," I stared at the chalkboard Mr. Mason had been writing on.

"I wish people thought of me the way you all think of her." I thought about everyone that had met me. I wasn't a superhero, I hadn't saved anyone. I was something fragile. Sometimes more trouble than I was worth.

I shook my head and the depressing thoughts fluttered away. These mood swings kept catching me off guard and I wished they would stop.

"People don't know you yet. I'm sure if you give it time everyone will see you the way you want them to." She said this with such confidence that I believed just what she was saying.

When we finally got to Mrs. Tanner's class, my usual good mood had returned. Rose bounded over to us and engulfed us in hugs before pulling us into the almost empty classroom. We were a few minutes early and there was only one other student in the classroom. He was a small boy that had secluded himself in the desk furthest from the door and closest to the teacher's desk. He had glasses that seemed too big for his thin face and greasy hair.

"Good morning, Garrett!" Rose called cheerfully. Garrett looked at her, his face turned red instantaneously and he stammered a greeting back to her. As he turned back around, his eyes caught mine and I heard his heart slam in his chest. I ducked my head and took my seat between Amber and Rose.

"So that guy you were with the other day," Rose started, "is he your boyfriend?"

"No," I said, but it something in my voice had her arching her eyebrow.

"She said she doesn't have a boyfriend," Amber said coming to my defense.

"Well in that case, I'll tell you something good." I didn't like the sound of that.

"Rose, that isn't nice!" Rose shot Amber with a sharp look.

"You remember Jason, right?" she asked, but continued without waiting for my response, "Well, he's single and cute and he likes you." My cheeks were on fire and I stared at my desk, the only place I felt safe to look.

"Rose!" Amber scolded. Rose seemed unabashed, shrugging and leaning back in her chair.

"I think they'd make a nice couple."

"I don't think that I'm ready to date someone I met two hours ago." I finally answered. Rose frowned again.

"Well, you do have Spanish together."

"Come on, Rose, can't you drop it? She's been here two weeks."

"Yeah, yeah," Rose said a little grumpily. She folded her arms over her chest and stared to the front of the class. When another boy took the seat in front of her, she started a conversation with him, ignoring Amber and me completely.

"Don't worry about it, as mature as she acts, she's really just a five year old in a teenage girl's body." Amber told me loudly. Rose snorted, but continued to ignore us.

"It's a wonder we don't get along better then. After all, I'm a seven year old in a teenage girl's body." Rose turned to peer at me curiously. I froze. I had meant to say that in my head, but I had slipped.

"Ha." Rose laughed drily, "So you're a comedian. Good to know." I breathed a sigh of relief.

"You three!" Mrs. Tanner snapped and our heads bobbed up all at once. Mrs. Tanner was a short, plump woman with a pinched face and beady, black eyes. She had a permanent scowl on her face that was caked in make-up. She smelled like she bathed in perfume and the stench was revolting. "You can either stop talking or you can have detention, which would you prefer?"

"I was just trying to explain to Nessie the difference between sine, cosine, and tangent," Rose told her as she made her eyes wide and innocent. Mrs. Tanner huffed a bit about me raising my hand next time, but said no more as she continued her lecture.

After class ended, I told Amber and Rose that I would see them at lunch before heading to Spanish. Jason was flagging me down from his seat by the window. I really didn't have anywhere else to sit, so I took the seat beside him. He beamed at me as I sat down.

"Hello again," I greeted. That was all he needed before launching into an in depth run through of his entire life. He had been born and raised in Forks, but he wanted to go somewhere sunny after high school. I nodded, but I wasn't paying too much attention. I looked around the classroom and recognized several faces. I still couldn't put names to the faces, but I remembered them.

Just then, a face I hadn't seen before appeared. He was about as tall as my father with dusty blonde hair and eyes that were such a deep shade of blue they almost looked violet. He was incredibly attractive even by vampire standards and seemed to be popular. He seemed to notice me then, looking up into my eyes. I felt my heart twist and I wondered what had happened.

"New girl?" I heard him ask another boy in the class. The boy turned to look at me as though the gorgeous boy would have been referring to someone else.

"Yeah, Chief Swan's niece," the other boy replied seemingly reluctant. I held my breath as the blonde boy strode over to my desk. Jason shut up as the blonde boy stood in front of my desk.

"Hi," he said easily, "My name's Cole." I felt my lungs fill with air.

"Renesmee," I replied.

"Ruh-nez-may," he repeated drawing out each syllable. I felt my cheeks heat at my name on his lips.

"We were in the middle of a conversation, Braden," Jason said venomously from behind me, "maybe you should go back to Cancun." Cole looked up as though he had just noticed the desk beside mine. He seemed unperturbed by Jason's tone.

"You may have been speaking, but she was clearly falling asleep." Jason flushed and was about to retort when the Spanish teacher entered the classroom.

"Mr. Braden, welcome back. Now, if you would be so kind to take a seat we will be able to begin our lesson."

"Lo siento, Señora." He returned to the empty seat beside the boy from before. I was disappointed. I had hoped we would have been able to talk further.

Even more disappointing was that he didn't seem to be in lunch with me. I joined Rose and Amber for lunch surprised to find that they had already heard about the incident in Spanish. Rose was unnervingly quiet and I was dying to know what she was thinking.

"Cole Braden is the school's notorious play boy," Amber was telling me, "he's dated just about every girl in town and cheated on just as many. He was in Cancun, Mexico for the past three weeks because his father went on a business trip near there." I frowned. The angelic boy I had met earlier couldn't possibly be capable of such atrocities.

"Cole Braden…." There was a chorus of grumbles that sounded around the mention of his name.

"Did you even try to get to know Jason?" Amber demanded.

"I thought you were on my side with that?" I argued. Amber crossed her arms in annoyance.

"If Rose wants to hang out with Cole, we shouldn't stop her," Rose stated. The table grew very quiet.

"Rose…." Rose held her hand up to stop whatever it was they were going to say.

"People are free to make their own decisions and their own mistakes. Can we all agree that there are some things that people need to do on their own?" Everyone nodded mutely.

"Are you really okay, Rose?" I asked because she hadn't smiled since Cole's name had come up. Rose finally looked at me and smiled. She put her hands on Luke's––which were around her waist again––before nodding.

"I mean what I say." And I believed her because she hadn't yet said anything to me that wasn't what she really meant.


	7. Humanity

VI

Humanity

When I got home my mother told me what I had already guessed. Jacob had left. It hurt, but less than I thought it would.

"He'll be back soon," my mother assured me repeatedly and I soon began to wonder if she was really assuring me or herself. My father finally whispered something in her ear that I couldn't hear and she fell silent. I could feel her eyes on me as I sat at the table doing homework and eating barbeque potato chips. I wondered what he had told her that made her regard me in such a way.

"Bella," Alice called from the living room. My mother finally pulled her eyes from me and left me alone with my homework. I wished I could get away with eavesdropping, but my father would hear what I was thinking and they would start talking about the weather or our cousins in Denali.

"Alice, no!" I heard my mother cry with such indignation and fury that I jumped in my seat. I heard my father hushing her. I thought they had gone much further than just a room away, usually I would be able to hear them quite clearly. I brushed it off as my mind being too busy with other things.

"Edward!" My mother yelled after a while. I sighed and started shoving my homework and books into my backpack deciding to do them at the cabin. I picked Tennyson up and stuffed her in my backpack on top of my books and left her a small hole to breathe from before darting out the back door.

"Nessie," I almost jumped out of my skin, my mother had heard me leave and was jogging beside me, "where are you going?"

"The cabin," I told her, annoyance trickling over my words, "if secrets are to be kept from me I would prefer not to hear your whispers and gasps regarding those secrets." She slowed and stopped. I sighed, it wasn't really her fault.

A sudden thought occurred to me then and I stopped so abruptly that I nearly fell forward onto my face. I whirled and my mother was already in front of me.

"I was running normally," I told her. She stared at me waiting for me to continue.

"Yes?" My mind was racing.

"You can't normally keep up with me when I'm running normally, let alone catch me. My hearing is weak and I have been having all sorts of mood swings." She seemed to get where I was going. She was quiet for a while, focusing on something so hard a small crease formed in her perfect brow. Suddenly, my father was standing with us, Alice in tow.

"Do you think Carlisle will know what to do?" My mother asked.

"He has been talking with Nahuel for a while so maybe Nahuel has had something like this happen to him before," my father didn't seem convinced even as he said it.

"How odd," Alice murmured. The others came then, hurtling to a stop beside us.

"What's strange, Alice!" I screamed finally. I was panicking and everyone jumped. It was the very first time I had ever raised my voice like that. My mother looked flustered and helpless and scared.

"Your future," she said, the only one who seemed unperturbed by my outburst. I growled in frustration when Tennyson began whimpering and clawing at the inside of my backpack.

"Alice?" My eyes fixed on his, he sounded genuinely surprised.

"Edward, what did she see?" Rosalie pushed her way past my mother to Edward. My mother stood utterly motionless, taking in what was happening and working through it.

"Renesmee," he replied, "she saw Renesmee's future?" He said it uncertainly as though Alice had seen wrong.

"We need Carlisle," Esme announced. No one disagreed and she disappeared.

"We should go back to the house," Jasper suggested, he pulled at Alice's elbow and she nodded as she began to follow him. Carlisle and Esme returned half an hour later and we had all sat in silence as we waited. Tennyson was the only one unruffled by what was happening. Everyone seemed to watch her as she scurried along the floor, nosing at this and that stopping only to tug at someone's jeans or shoes before skidding along to the next interesting thing.

When Carlisle entered the living room I held my breath. He went to my father first, who had all the information and was able to explain it better than anyone else.

"Nessie," he called, "could you come over here?" I nodded, but as I stood my knee hit the coffee table and I stumbled. My mother took a breath and met my father's eyes. I was terrified. Clumsiness was definitely not an attribute that I normally had.

"I see," Carlisle murmured before I had even reached him. I placed my hand on his cheek and thought of all the moments I had in the past month that seemed odd to me. I thought of all my mood swings, my dull senses, my slow reactions and my inability to see their movements. Carlisle watched patiently.

"When do you think this started?" He asked. I had to think about that and quickly added my deteriorating memory to the list.

"This has been going on for a while, Carlisle." My father told him. Had he noticed something I hadn't?

"Carlisle," Alice said from behind Jasper's arms, "there's one more thing. I've been seeing Renesmee's future more and more clearly. I thought it was because I had become so close to her, but now…." She trailed off uncertainly.

"I'll call Nahuel and see if he has had any similar symptoms before, but I can't promise anything." Carlisle disappeared followed by my father. We waited, none of us bothering to move. My dad returned a few minutes later.

"When was the last time you fed, Ness?" he asked.

"I had a hamburger for lunch," I told him. He shook his head.

"I meant blood." I stared.

"Jacob and I went hunting about two weeks before my birthday, but we wound up cutting it short before we caught anything."

"Three weeks before that, I took her hunting with me," my mom told him from the couch. He nodded and returned to Carlisle.

"Nahuel thinks you may need to hunt," Carlisle said as he descended the stairs. My passed him and crossed to me.

"I thought he said they could survive on human food or blood," my mother demanded. Carlisle nodded.

"She can, but when they don't drink blood, the vampire part of them is weakened. When we don't hunt it dulls our senses and, while it won't kill her, she will become increasingly human." Emmett was the first to speak.

"So, if she stops drinking blood all together she'll be human?"

"We don't know, Nahuel has never gone very long without hunting." I sat down.

"Do you think it works the other way, too?"

"What do you mean?"

"If I only feed on blood, do you think I would become more vampire than human?" My father looked uncomfortable with that notion.

"I don't think we should experiment like that with you," he proclaimed. My mother came to stand beside me.

"At any rate, I should take her hunting." I was lead quickly from the house and deep into the woods. I wasn't sure if I would still be able to hunt with my weakened senses and my decreased speed, but the second I cleared my mind everything returned. I could feel my muscles draw tight beneath my skin and I could see and smell everything.

"Are you going to be alright to hunt, Renesmee?" I nodded, and settled into a crouch, ready to charge a herd of deer that were grazing in a meadow about half a mile in front of us. My mother loped after me and we both caught decent sized bucks.

I was still hungry after having drained my buck and I took off in search of bigger game. I was running faster this time, my strength returning. A large mountain lion was standing between two trees, I might not have noticed him before the deer, but he stood out now. Yellow eyes watched me and he growled at me, a weak warning.

We lunged for each other at the same time and I sank my teeth into his skin. It felt no different than using a knife to cut butter. My arms clamped around his thick, muscular body and I squeezed. His body fell limp in my arms as I continued to drain him of his life force.

My mother was standing a few yards behind me. I stood to face her, tossing the lion away from me. I licked my lips, the smooth copper flavor coating my tongue.

"Are you finished?" I nodded, "Head back to the house, I'll be back in a bit," she ran off without waiting for me to respond.

I ran back to the house, feeling my muscles stretch and relishing in the pure exhilaration that came from pushing my body. I was back at the house in hardly any time at all.

"Are you feeling better?" My dad asked as soon as I stepped through the threshold.

"Yes," I told him taking a deep breath. He nodded and looked over my shoulder eagerly, "She stayed behind and told me to head back." His eyes snapped to mine a sudden panic had leapt to his face.

"You left her alone?" He demanded. I jumped back. He was never cross with me. He shoved past me and yelled into the woods at the top of his lungs for my mom. There was rustling in the trees and my dad held his breath in anticipation, but it was Alice who shot out of the trees.

"She went to them!" Alice told him cryptically. That was apparently all he needed because he darted out into the woods. "You won't make it!" Alice told him sadly, but he didn't return. Alice turned to me as though just noticing I was there.

"You should go pack a suitcase," she told me, "You'll be staying with Charlie for a while."

"Why?" I demanded. Alice shrugged.

"I suppose you could come with, but you won't see any of your friends again if you do," she told me. I bit my lip. I could always make new friends. Being immortal I would always have to, but I wouldn't see Cole again either. On the other hand, what if Jacob was involved?

"You want to stay here, Nessie," she told me, "I know I haven't been a very good friend lately, but you should trust me." I nodded and started to leave, but stopped.

"Where did my mother go?" Alice bit her cheek, deciding whether or not to tell me the truth I was sure.

"Italy," she said at last. I nodded, I wasn't quite sure if that was the truth or not, but I knew better than to push it. Instead, I did as she suggested and packed a suitcase of my best casual outfits. By the time I returned to the house everyone had disappeared. Esme had left a note for me by my keys. I picked Tennyson up and cuddled her to my cheek as I read the note.

Renesmee,

Everything will return to normal soon.

I promise to have Edward tell you everything when

we return.

Listen to Charlie and don't draw too much

attention to yourself.

Love,

Esme

I lifted my keys from the hook, the Volvo's keys were gone and when I got to the garage, my car was the only one left. I tossed my suitcase in the trunk and I slid behind the wheel sitting Tennyson on the passenger seat, anticipation boiling inside me. It had been too long since I last drove my car and I peeled out eager to get onto the road.

I slowed down when I turned onto Charlie's road. He was standing outside waiting for me and there was no way I would have heard the end of it if he had seen me driving like I was. I grabbed Tennyson before getting out of the car and popping the trunk. Charlie grabbed my bag and walked me inside. I had never been upstairs at Charlie's house let alone in my mom's old bedroom.

"I heard your mom went out of town for a while," Charlie said as he led me up the stairs.

"Yeah, urgent business or something," I told him. I was back to my normal self, complete with a hop in my step and all the gracefulness of a ballerina.

"Probably off helping Jacob with whatever he had to do," Charlie grumbled. I shrugged as we came to a door immediately after the stairs and on the left. Charlie shoved the door open and set the suitcase down inside the door.

"I haven't really touched it since Bella left, so there's a lot of her old things around here," I gazed around the room. This was where my mother had lived when her heart still beat. I set Tennyson on the ground and she began sniffing around eagerly.

"Er, is it potty trained?" Charlie asked gruffly, gesturing at Tennyson. She turned and fixed her eyes on Charlie as she sat down. Her soft, white ears were turned toward him in interest and I laughed.

"Well, we haven't had any accidents yet," I told him, "but she's still only a puppy. I promise to clean up after her if she makes a mess though." Charlie nodded and excused himself from the room to let me get settled.

"Tennyson," I sighed, she gazed at me and her tail flopped on the ground, "how did things get this way?" I flopped onto my new bed, which was my mom's old bed, and pulled the covers over my face. Tennyson scrambled onto the bed and nosed her way under my arm. I looked at the time, was it already ten? I kicked my shoes off and stuffed myself under the covers, clicking off the light as Tennyson made herself comfortable.

I only lie there for a few seconds before I felt something prodding me in the back. I shifted and reached beneath me and pulled out something long and thin. I reached out and flipped the lamp back on. It was a bracelet with a small diamond heart and a small wolf charm that had been whittled by familiar hands. What was my mom doing with a charm bracelet from Jacob?

I decided that it must have been a birthday gift from my mom's human days. Jacob and my mom had been friends before I was born after all. I shut the light off again, but the charm bracelet was still eating at me. I wondered if Charlie might know anything about it and decided to ask him tomorrow.

Tomorrow, I couldn't decide what I was anticipating more, being with my friends again, finding out about Jacob's charm bracelet, or seeing Cole again.


End file.
